The Changing Realm of Latin Jazz

Herb Alpert - When most people think of Latin Jazz, a salsa dance party comes up, with hot dance rhythms charging behind jazz harmonies and improvised solos. This is certainly taking care of of this style - musicians like Tito Puente, Mongo Santamaria, Cal Tjader, and Ray Barretto have gotten people about the dance floor for a long time with jazz and Cuban rhythms.

Dance rhythms certainly hold a place in modern Latin Jazz, but a growing variety of artists have abandoned the party area for different cultural and artistic influences. Today, many Latin Jazz musicians integrate rhythmic traditions from a broader spectrum from the Caribbean and South America, often blending cultural elements with modern jazz influences.

Latin jazz - Traditional Afro-Peruvian rhythms have played most within the increase of Latin Jazz, bringing rhythmic styles like the festejo and landó in to the style also a far more guitar heavy approach. Guitarist Richie Zellon has combined these traditions with jazz harmonies extensively while trumpet player Gabriel Alegria has evolved an exceptional approach along with his Afro-Peruvian Sextet.

While stateside Latin Jazz always carried a Puerto Rican influence, it's only been that artists have convey a distinct emphasis upon the concept of traditional rhythms like bomba and plena supporting jazz contexts. Trombonist Papo Vazquez has utilized his ferocious command of bebop over Puerto Rican rhythms while saxophonist Miguel Zenón has dived deep into plena and classic Puerto Rican songs being a foundation for jazz.

Argentina happens to be noted for it's passionate tango, and many musicians have found this music can be a natural fit for jazz. Bassist Pablo Aslan has produced a unique language for improvising around tango structures while pianist Pablo Ziegler continues the work of influential composer Astor Piazzolla using a distinct jazz twist.

Listeners often think about the lush bossa novas of Antonio Carlos Jobim after they consider the combination of Brazilian rhythms and jazz, however the style has exploded into something a lot more dynamic. Pianist Jovino Santos Neto has built upon his long tenure with composer Hermeto Pascoal and created a highly creative repertoire of original Brazilian jazz while drummer Duduka Da Fonseca has blended the freedom behind a New York jazz sensibility with dynamic samba rhythms.

Chris Botti - The party area is certainly still part of Latin Jazz - just hear the background music of Poncho Sanchez or Pete Escovedo to get a healthy dose of danceable jazz. The style has certainly expanded artistically, reflecting an even more encompassing spectrum of Latin traditions and giving listeners an even more diverse experience.